Choosing the best air purifier for allergies requires careful consideration of several key factors to ensure it effectively addresses your specific allergy concerns. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you make an informed decision:

1. Identify Your Allergy Triggers:
   Determine the specific allergens that affect you the most. Common indoor allergens include pollen, pet dander, dust mites, mold spores, and smoke. Knowing your triggers will help you select the right purifier.
2. Consider Room Size:
   Measure the square footage of the room where you plan to use the air purifier. Air purifiers are rated based on their coverage area, so choose one that can handle the size of your room effectively.
3. Check the CADR Rating:
   Look for the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) rating, which indicates the purifier's ability to remove allergens like dust, pollen, and smoke from the air. Choose a purifier with CADR ratings that match your room size and allergen concerns.
4. Select the Right Filter Type:
   Opt for an air purifier with a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. HEPA filters are highly effective at capturing allergens, as they can trap particles as small as 0.3 microns. For specific allergen concerns, consider additional filters like activated carbon for odors or specialized filters for pet dander or mold.
5. Evaluate the Air Exchange Rate:
   Check the air exchange rate, which indicates how many times the purifier can clean the air in your room per hour. For allergy relief, aim for at least 4-6 air exchanges per hour.
6. Consider Noise Levels:
   If you plan to use the purifier in your bedroom or a quiet space, look for models with low noise levels. Some purifiers offer "silent" or "sleep" modes for nighttime use.
7. Look for Smart Features:
   Some modern air purifiers come with smart features like Wi-Fi connectivity and smartphone apps, allowing you to monitor air quality remotely and control settings from your phone.
8. Check for Certification:
   Ensure that the air purifier meets industry standards and certifications, such as being AHAM (Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers) certified or Energy Star certified for energy efficiency.
9. Read User Reviews and Expert Recommendations:
   Research user reviews and expert recommendations to gain insights into the real-world performance of the air purifier models you're considering.
10. Budget Consideration:
    Determine your budget, keeping in mind that air purifiers vary in price. While costlier models may offer more features, there are also budget-friendly options that provide effective allergy relief.
11. Consider Long-Term Costs:
    Factor in the cost of replacement filters and how frequently they need to be changed. Some purifiers come with washable or longer-lasting filters, which can be cost-effective over time.

By following these steps and considering your specific needs, you can select the best air purifier for allergies that will help you breathe cleaner, allergen-free air and improve your overall indoor air quality.

There are many great air purifier options for allergies on the market. I recommend that you visit this helpful page on the official Air Purifier Pro website:

https://air-purifier.pro/best-air-purifier-for-allergies/

I have the worst allergies ever, but luckily I found an air purifier that has been a total game-changer. My allergist recommended the Rabbit Air brand and let me tell you, it's absolutely amazing. Yeah, it's a bit pricey upfront, but when you consider the overall cost per use, it's actually cheaper. The one I got covers 600 feet, but they also have a bigger one that can cover 1000 or 1200 feet, I think. Mine cost around $400-450, which is definitely an investment.

Before getting the Rabbit Air purifier, I had a cheaper one that cost $120, but it didn't help me as much. And you know what? It ended up costing me way more money in the long run. With the Rabbit Air, I only have to replace the filters every 1.5 years, and it costs $90 for all the filters. On the other hand, with the cheaper Honeywell one, I had to replace the filters every 3 months, and they cost around $10 or $27 each, so I was spending around $150 a year just on filters. With the Rabbit Air, I only have to vacuum the filters every 3 months and replace them every 18 months for a total cost of $90. I've had mine for 4 years now and haven't had any technical issues, so it's definitely been worth the money.

By the way, most cat allergies are actually caused by saliva, so an air purifier won't solve everything. But let me tell you, it has made a huge difference for me in terms of reducing hair, dander, litter dust, and pollen. There are also special foods available that can help reduce the allergen FEL D 1, which is what causes allergies in the first place.

To manage my allergies, I vacuum every single day and wash my sheets at least once a week. I even replace the pillowcase I use on my face every day. I have a ton of allergies, not just related to cats, so I have to do a lot of cleaning to keep everything under control.

So, I actually bought the same air purifier a few months ago, the LV-H128. I think it's pretty good.

I can't say for sure, but my allergies seem to have improved a bit since I got it. However, I've noticed that there are still allergens on our bedsheets, and apparently, carpets, especially older ones, can be full of allergens too. So, on days when we change our sheets, give the carpet a good vacuum, and have the air purifier on, things definitely feel better. But unfortunately, the purifier alone isn't a magic solution. But then again, my allergies are really bad.

Oh, and we like to keep the window cracked open for fresh air. I guess it might lessen the impact of the purifier, but it really depends on what you're allergic to. If it's just pollen that's coming in from outside, then it's best to keep your windows and door closed all day with the filter running, so you can sleep in a room with nice, clean air at night. As for me, I'm allergic to pets and hay, which we keep in a separate room, so having the window open doesn't matter in the winter... until summer arrives and the hayfever starts up again, of course.

Do you have any health issues before you purchase the air purifiers? Like allergies or a little cough? We used to live in an apartment with bad window seals, so dust, pollen, and smoke from our neighbors would always come in. Our toddler had a persistent cough that wouldn't go away.

As we were trying to move out and end our lease, we asked our child's doctor if using air purifiers would help. Guess what? Not only did she say it would help, but she even wrote us a prescription for it! She told us to buy whichever ones we liked, and her office would provide us with a letter confirming the prescription. We then sent that letter to our insurance company, and they reimbursed us for the cost.

We chose two air purifiers that cost around $110 each, and we got our money back. And thanks to our doctor's recommendations, we were able to break our lease and find a much better place to live. Our doctor called it "environmental allergies" that were causing our toddler's prolonged cough. It might not work for everyone, but it's definitely worth looking into. Good luck!

Air purifiers are definitely a great help when it comes to improving air quality. They can remove really tiny particles like allergens which are as small as 0.01 micrometers. The Coway Mighty, recommended by the WireCutter, is a fantastic air purifier that many people say has changed their lives. It costs around $200 to buy, and you'll need to spend about $60 each year on filters.

If you're looking for more affordable options, the Winix 5500-2 and Winix 5300-2 are also highly recommended. They are cheaper than the Coway Mighty but still do a great job.

However, I would suggest avoiding the LEVOIT and Medify brands. These air purifiers haven't been certified for their effectiveness, and their specifications can be misleading. They also seem to be rebranded Chinese products. Plus, they only sell online and have somehow managed to manipulate the rankings to show up in the top 10 everywhere. So it's best to steer clear of them.

Thank you so much for the reply and tips!!!

Following as I am highly allergic to dust mites too. I have a levoit air purifier that seems to work fine but I’m not sure it does anything for dust mites. I think that’s more about cleaning and protecting bedding and carpets but if I’m wrong I want to know!

Winix air purifier. Ours has a large item filter ( so like dog hair and large dust) then a carbon filter then a regular filter. My husband and I both suffer from allergies and it definitely helps. The tree in our front yard turns my car green with pollen and we have zero issues in the house

Sufferer of lots of allergies, including dust mites here! My allergy dr recommended a few things: mission allergy brand pillow encasements (this brand only- apparently other ones don’t work as well) https://www.missionallergy.com/product/barrier-2-pillow-encasings; wash your sheets, blankets, mattress covers in HOT water; use an air purifier. We’ve used Honeywell Allergen Plus HEPA air purifier for years now and it helps a ton. It’s not the quietest, but it’s a nice white noise while we all sleep.

The r/BuyItForLife has a really great breakdown of recent reviews for air purifiers. We just got a Airmega Mighty AP-1512HH and works really well. Extremely quiet, and has different level of filters depending on the allergen.

My allergies have definitely been improved by sleeping with a coway filter (I think whatever Wirecutter recommends). Getting a miele bagged canister vacuum with a HEPA filter made a huge difference too.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-air-purifier/ Winix is great in my experience. Grt the correct size for your room, run it on a higher speed. You want lots of air changes

Honeywell HEPA air purifiers. I have two: one in bedroom and one in the room where I spend most of my time watching TV, etc. Makes a difference for me.

Coway Airmega may help you.

r/crboxes

• 2 Merv 13-16 filters, 4-6" thick

• 2 5-pack 120mm p12 pro computer fans

• powered by a 12v 5.5 60w barrel jack power brick

You will not get comparable performance or cost from any market purifier

If you're dead set on spending that much, you can blow $300 of that on Noctua G2 nf140x25's for ultra quiet (~≤30db) low power consumption fans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaQTYrisieA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAMqqsbbcY

If you want something just purchasable these are premade kits but they won't give you access to thicker filters

https://www.cleanairkits.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2EsBtZEc68

I'd definitely recommend checking out Intellipure. I know they get mentioned a lot, but for good reason. They use this technology called DFS which is a step up from a regular HEPA filter. I know your budget is around $500. Their Compact model can sometimes be a bit more than that, but I've seen them on sale or sometimes you can find a refurbished one for a really good price. It might be worth stretching the budget a little if you can because in my opinion, it’s one of those things where you get what you pay for in terms of effectiveness. Hope you find something that works for you.

I went on the airpurifier subreddit and they recommended Coway Airmega AP-1512HH.

I bought one, loved it, and now I have 4.

I have the Levoit ones. Love them.

You'll want one with true HEPA filter to trap mold spores and dust mite allergens. I also recommend getting one with washable pre-filters so you don't spend a fortune on replacement filters.

FWIW, I recently did an analysis on Reddit data for air purifiers. Basically ranked them by aggregated sentiment. Maybe you'll find it helpful https://redditrecs.com/air-purifier/ You can filter by price and filter for comments about allergies and mold and get a breakdown of what ppl have said about the most often recommended ones (disclaimer some links are affiliate they help fund the analyses)

I'm a huge fan of Levoit, personally.

You are mixing different types of air cleaners on that list. I don’t know about all of those but generally you’ve got maybe three types:

A) regular HEPA filters (most of the list)

B) some that are designed to be good with VOCs (the ½” charcoal filters are worthless), Some have as much as 5 to 30 pounds of activated charcoal (see Austin Air) and these can deal with VOCs.

C) then some medical grade air filters that go way beyond HEPA. (See IqAir) Heck the pre filter in an IQAir machine is better than many that claim HEPA capacity.

But based on what you said, you don’t need to knock down VOC’s and you don’t need super clean air, so with 400-500 bucks you can find good HEPA filters. The IQAir machines are more like 900 bucks.

Regardless of the brand, clean air comes from how often you can get the air through a filter per hour. In a regular home, it’s hard to clean the air throughout all those rooms without a central forced air furnace filter.

So, I’d think about whether you need a quiet (but still high capacity) air cleaner in your bedroom while you sleep. Or maybe you have a large open living/kitchen area and you can turn on a machine at its highest (and noisiest) speed overnight…

So many variables.

Pay close attention to how often an air cleaner’s filters need to be replaced and their costs.

Hope some of that helps!

https://www.cleanairkits.com/ - much higher CADR, more energy efficient, and quieter than almost anything else on the market. No proprietary filters, just get the best 3M furnace filters from Costco and you're good to go.

i actually have one from the brand mila and i love it

Dyson. I could actively watch it getting better in my room when I first turned it on until I couldn’t see any particles at all in the air. It detects stuff immediately. I’ve been recommending it to everyone and they also have had similar experiences.

We've been happy with our Levoit, it has made such a huge difference.

I have a levoit and it’s amazing. I barely notice it’s on and I have the large one in my bedroom which isn’t that big but I have 5 dogs and it alleviates so much dust. That’s the only room in my house that I breathe the absolute best in.

Consumers reports really liked Winnix or Blue Air.

The Blue Air cube is hard to beat.

I have a Dyson one, bought it for my husband as he is allergic to dust mites. Frankly no difference.

I use Levoit and Winx. Winx runs in the basement. Levoit runs on the main floor and a smaller Levoit in each bedroom.

My experience is that air purifiers are one tool used to help reduce/alleviate allergies. Expecting a purifier to fix the issue entirely is setting oneself up for disappointment. You may also want to investigate an air quality monitor.

Love my blueair 211.

All hepa air purifiers should be similar.

You have to get one that's big enough for your room. You may need multiple, one for each room.

You will need to change the filters regularly, so I suggest getting a air purifiers for which you know you'll be getting filters for a long time.

The main expense long term is going to be the filters, so keep that in mind. You could diy a box fan one (google it) which should be the cheapest overall.

I bought an IKEA air purifier because I needed a compact one, so far I'm happy with it.

If cost isn’t an issue, look at IQ Air Health Pro. Works great! EDIT : I just noticed the budget constraint. This costs around 1000 dollars.

Change the HVAC filters too and keep your pillow covered when not in use.

Cleaning willp always be the most impactful.

Winix units have been my favorite for a while. To not have any dust in pollen you may need more than 1 unit.

I had to look through your profile for clues - I'm guessing you're in the UK?

Shark is low quality. They're dishonest in their marketing (e.g., "NeverChange" filters schtick is bogus). We've seen numerous problems with the air quality display not working. And if a model is discontinued, filter availability afterwards can be pretty short.

I assume by "dust", you're allergic to dust mite allergens? If you haven't already, you'll probably need to take multiple approaches to controlling dust mites. This includes washing bedding in hot water every week, using allergen covers on mattresses & pillows, wet-dusting with quality microfiber cloths, and keeping relative humidity (RH) below 50% for prolonged periods. Dust mites can't survive in low humidity environments.

With significant allergies, I'd use a bagged vacuum with a HEPA exhaust filter such as Miele or Sebo. Bagless vacs are often leaky.

Obviously an air purifier will only help with airborne allergens and not the ones settled on various surfaces.

For rooms measured in meters, I would seek out a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) 6 times greater than the room's volume. So if your ceiling height is 2.4 meters, this means your room's volume is 60 m^(3)****. 60 m**^(3)/h × 6 = 360 m^(3)/h. You need a CADR of at least 360 m^(3)****/h.**

Coway is one of the highest quality consumer-grade brands. And yes, they're more expensive. However, Coway units tend to be more energy efficient and quieter than others. A recommended model would be the Coway Airmega Jet. Top CADR is 402 m^(3)/h. The replacement filter is £59.99 directly from Coway (GreenHEPA + activated carbon). Filter set is a bit cheaper on Amazon currently.

If you were to go with Levoit, I'd buy two Levoit Vital 100S units. This is because top CADR is only 243 m^(3)/h.

Important: keep in mind the CADRs listed for these purifiers applies to the highest airflow/speed setting only. Lower settings have lower CADRs, which reduces cleaning effectiveness.